Pumpkin and Spice

Hi, everyone! My stay-cation was a absolute blast, and I'm working on a couple blog posts all about it... It was a busy weekend, and uploading the pictures is taking a while. In the meantime, why don't you pop over and vote for my lemon basil angelfood cupcake? Don't worry, I'll be right here waiting for you.

Unlike political elections, you can vote as many times as you like for the Iron Cupcake challenge, but you have to do it by this Thursday, Oct. 2! So vote early and vote often! As always, we Iron Cupcakers are competing for honor, glory and some sweet prizes like the Cupcake Courier (gah! I want it!), Jessie Steele's retro-tastic aprons, cookbooks from Taste of Home and Hello, Cupcake!, and Fiesta's Chefheads kitchen tools. Also, this month, a totally rockin' cupcake signet ring by Etsy artist Metal Sugar! OMG! 

It's that time again! This month's Iron Cupcake challenge was basil. It was a little tricky, I'll be honest. I don't usually think of basil as a cake ingredient. I like it in desserts, but I usually use it in a sorbet or sauce. (Blueberry basil sauce is like heaven on lemon sorbet!)

After some thought, I decided to use the flavors of basil and lemon. To me, basil is a light, summery herb, and lemon is like sunshine in fruit form! Of course, with such light flavors, I thought the cake should be equally light, so I did an angelfood cupcake!

The ballot for Iron Cupcake is up! Pop on over and check out the lovely and creative entries, and, of course, vote!

Voting is open until noon (central time) on September 4, so don't hesitate!

Well, it's time for me to unveil my submission for Iron Cupcake: Earth. This month is the inaugural challenge, and the "secret" ingredient really put my creative cogs into motion. Chili peppers were the ingredient, and with so many types of chillies, and so many different cuisines that utilize them, there was a wealth of places to draw inspiration.